Title: The holy stump (Isaiah 06:11-13)
1. What does the holy stump mean here?
(1) The pure faith of the remaining people is the stump of this land. It refers to the few people who live spiritually, and refers to the qualitative minority. Isaiah called this righteous few “a remnant” or “a remnant people.” These were people who tried to live only by faith in a time of chaos. At that time, the king, servants, and most of the people fell into sin, unbelief and corruption, but they were a qualitative minority who did not follow the masses and the world. Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed because there were no 10 of them. The Puritan movement in England in the 16th century, the Pietism movement in the 17th century, the John Wesley movement in the 18th century, and the Moody movement in the 19th century were all qualitative faith movements of the remnant people. Even if the world changes and the church becomes secular, the movement to live only with true faith is like a lighthouse that illuminates the era and society. A qualitative minority movement such as the “Holy Remnant People” must take place in the Korean church today as well.
(2) The idea of the Messiah of the remnant people is the stubble of this land. The Jewish people were faced with a dangerous situation facing the brink of destruction. In this fear, he foretold the Second Coming and the golden age to come. Isaiah 11:1-2 says, “A shoot shall come forth from the stem of Jesse, and a branch shall come forth from his roots and bear fruit; He will descend on us.” This is a prophecy that the kingdom of the Messiah will come to this earth in the distant future of history. We are not a faith that sits vaguely and waits for the kingdom of the Messiah, but as believers who share in God's will like the rest of the people who believe, we are the stumps of this earth.
2. Why did God make us a remnant of people?
(1) It was reserved for God's holy people. Like a harvesting farmer who leaves unripe grain in the field, or leaves unripe fruit in an orchard, it is believed that he left it because of his immaturity in his faith. Those who have already passed away can be divided into two categories. The first is that they have already matured and are ready to become the people of the kingdom of heaven, so they are called because they need it in heaven. Then we should think that we have become the remnant people, not because we have any significance, but because we have hope of repentance because we have not yet put it away. We do not know how many people in this world will repent. God is always waiting for us to repent and return